Reconstruction of Galle stadium to continue

Reconstruction of the Galle International stadium will continue after a heritage dispute over a three-storey building that would block a historic 16th century fort was resolved by Mahinda Rajapakse, the Sri Lanka president.

"The president [ Rajapakse] called all the relevant parties and had a discussion at which everything was cleared," Jayananda Warnaweera, the stadium curator, told AFP.

Duleep Mendis, the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, confirmed that the rebuilding was on schedule. "The ground will be ready for the Third Test [against England in December]," Mendis said.

The stadium had been destroyed by the tsunami on December 26, 2004.

Earlier, Parakrama Dahanayake, the president of the Galle Heritage Foundation, had expressed concern over the the blocking of the fort. "The view of the fort will be completely blocked by the new building that is coming up," Dahanayake said. "The view is obscured and the Galle Fort may find itself struck off the World Heritage list as a result."

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